Colorado Cannabis Businessman Indicted in Smuggling Operation

Scott Pack, a Colorado marijuana entrepreneur with 14 cannabis business licenses, has been indicted along with a former Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division officer Renee Rayton and as many as 19 others. The operation is believed to have illegally transferred millions of dollars of cannabis over state lines.

The investigation resulted in 16 indictments in March that were the result of a year long investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). On March 16th, over 200 law enforcement officers raided 19 locations and arrested 15 people in the suspected ring.

Barbra Roach, Special Agent and head of the Denver DEA office, said in a press conference in March, “We do have more criminal organizations coming in to do marijuana trafficking and then taking it out of state. We’re seeing ourselves as a larger source of supply for all our outer lining states than we were before.”

Pack hired Rayton within weeks of her leaving the enforcement job, which requires a 6 month “cooling off” period before employment by a marijuana licensed business. Her nearly $100,000 annual salary included substantial proceeds from the illegal operations. Two of Pack’s businesses, Harmony Green LLC and HGCO LLC, also were charged in the indictment.

Michael Stonewall was one of the original people charged in March and was the organizer of the illegal operation. Although he was never a licensed cannabis worker and never operated a licensed business in Colorado, half of the 16 arrests in March were people that were currently or previously licensed to work in the state regulated industry.

The DEA reported that they were able to get $3,500 per pound for the illegal crop which went to states like Arkansas, Illinois, Texas and Missouri. They apparently laundered their cash through a legal and licensed food truck operating as Dos Locos Mexican Food, according to Roach.

Original article from Oregon Cannabis Connection here. Syndicated by special permission.

Keith Mansur is the founder, publisher, and editor of Oregon Cannabis Connection newspaper. The print publication has been serving Oregon since 2010. He has been a Oregon medical marijuana patient, grower, and caregiver since 2006. Find him on Facebook or email him at occnewspaper420(at)gmail.com